Although the Patriots lost a close one to the Jets, last week ended up being a pretty good week for me in all areas of the fantasy football world. Not only did I win in nearly all of my leagues, but my predictions ended up with a stellar 19-4-5 record, led by great games from Turner the Burner, the Arizona passing game and DeAngelo Williams, along with sub-par efforts from Kyle Orton and Willis McGahee (even with Jake Delhomme doing his best to submarine me and one of my fantasy teams!)

With the playoffs fast approaching though, and me still needing a win or two more to clinch the playoffs in a few leagues, let’s move on to my picks for this week. I’ll start with the man who should help many a fantasy team make the playoffs in week 12 by handing out a good ol’ fashioned beatdown to San Diego…Peyton Manning.

Hits

Peyton Manning, QB, Colts: This weekend Indianapolis will head to San Diego to take on a Chargers defense that has been one of the worst in the league against the pass (possibly due to the absence of their top pass rusher in Shawne Merriman?) For all those managers who drafted Manning with a top pick in their league and have been disappointed so far (although the past few weeks he’s been pretty good), this game should serve as redemption. The Chargers are allowing 267 passing yards on average to an assortment of signal callers across the league…and this weekend they take on one that is slightly better than your “average quarterback.” I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect 300 yards and at least two scores from Peyton this week.

To all of our devoted readers (and those who just stopped by for their first time), Happy Halloween! Make sure to go out and get some good candy (not the crappy kind that you hated getting as a kid!) to pass out to the kids tonight…or risk having to clean up toilet paper and shaving cream up in the morning.

Anyways, last week something relatively new happened in the world of FFGeekBlog hits and misses, which was that for the first time of the season, my feature pick did not completely bomb…nor did he do extremely well. For week eight, I recommended that you start Jets running back Thomas Jones at all costs against a Swiss-cheese style Kansas City run defense. If you took my advice, you probably don’t completely hate me…but you’re most likely not making up nicknames for me that include the words “genius”, “psychic” or “super awesome.” Against the Chiefs, Thomas Jones managed a mere 54 yards on the ground and also scored a touchdown, so while his fantasy stats weren’t something to cry about, they also weren’t something to warrant cover space on the revered Hits and Misses column.

After the dust settled though, even with Thomas Jones earning a “push” rating for the week (and J.T. O’Sullivan playing so badly that he lost the starting gig!), I still finished with a solid 16-4-5 (hits-misses-pushes) record, riding upon the shoulders of huge games from Drew Brees, Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, along with predictable stinkers from the Colts star receivers. This week I’ll try to continue my trend of solid picks, so here we go…

Hits

Brandon Marshall, WR, Broncos: While Marshall’s numbers may have “dropped off” over the past few weeks (only 18 receptions for 200 yards in the last three games), it’s not because quarterback Jay Cutler was not looking his way. Brandon continues to get more looks than almost any other receiver in the league (possibly the most) and this week, following the bye, playing at home, against a fairly bad Dolphins secondary, I expect a huge performance from my doppelganger (in name only.) Cutler will have a big day, but I think it’s Marshall who reaps the most rewards as he hands out tricks to the Dolphins and treats to the fans. (More …)

After weeks of mediocre results, last week I hit the jackpot with my picks (must have been the renaming of the post!) I finished up 17-7-6 (hits-misses-pushes) for the week, carried there by the stellar play of the Titans running game versus the joke that is the Kansas City Chiefs defense. I also got some help from a few other running backs including Ryan Grant, who finally found the endzone, and Dominic Rhodes, who filled in quite nicely for the injured Joseph Addai and rewarded fantasy managers with two touchdowns. While the Jets passing game failed pretty miserably against what I thought was supposed to be a weak Raiders pass defense, it wasn’t enough to keep me from my best week of the season.

This week I’m going to continue my trend of hating on the Chiefs defense by recommending all the Thomas Jones owners out there get him in your lineup this week. While I’m usually not too keen on picking against a team twice in a row (you figure they’ll try to make SOME adjustments), it’s just too good to pass up at this point. Anyways, here’s the rest of your hits and misses for week 8:

Hits

Thomas Jones, RB, Jets: T.Jones has come alive the past two weeks (much to the enjoyment of his owners…like me!) with possibly the two best games of his career in terms of touchdowns (week 6) and yards (week 7.) As a reward for his hard work, this week he gets to take on a Chiefs defense that was absolutely annihilated by the Titans running game last week. If starting a running back at home against a defense that is allowing 5.6 yards per carry, 207 yards per game and has allowed 12 rushing touchdowns already this season is something you’re interested in (it better be), get Jones in your lineup ASAP! (More …)

Now that we’ve completed five weeks of the season, there are probably a few of you in keeper leagues who are nearing the point where you already chalk this season up as a loss and move on to preparation for next year. Maybe your team of Jon Kitna, Ocho Cinco, Ryan Grant and Braylon Edwards just isn’t doing it for you (and there’s not a whole lot of reason your luck is going to change anytime soon!) Anyways, as we get closer and closer to the fantasy trade deadline (if your league has one) or the point where teams start clinching the playoffs, it might be time to start considering some names that you’ll want on your roster come next season, so here we go…

(Note: I didn’t include players such as Chris Johnson, Steve Slaton, or Matt Forte, who are already contributing in a big way for their teams and are almost guaranteed to be on a fantasy roster already this year…but by all means you’ll want to keep them too!)

Running Backs

Felix Jones, Cowboys: I’ll admit, if you’re in a keeper league where everyone is not completely brain-dead, Jones is probably already on a fantasy roster. However, that shouldn’t prevent you from trying to pry him from the unsuspecting grasp of an owner who is focused on winning this year. Jones looks like the real deal and as he’s averaging 9.0 yards per carry at this point, there’s no way the Cowboys can have him riding the pine as much as he has, even with Marion Barber on the team. Next season the team will probably name Barber the starter again, but I expect a pretty even split in the number of carries and they should both put up serviceable fantasy numbers. (More …)

After participating in a few drafts so far, I just wanted to list a few wide receivers that I’ve either drafted, or seen drafted in the last few rounds that could help your fantasy team this year (or in future years if you’re in a keeper league):

Ted Ginn, Jr. (MIA): Should be the number one target for Chad Pennington in Miami, which means a lot more than it would have meant last season when the team was in complete disarray. Around 900 yards and five scores doesn’t seem out of the picture.

DeSean Jackson (PHI): With number one receiver Kevin Curtis out for an extended period of time undergoing surgery for a sports hernia and number two receiver Reggie Brown already having hamstring issues, Jackson will be thrust into the action to start the season. He’s looked good in preseason and if that carries over to the regular season, expect quarterback Donovan McNabb to look his way all year long.

Eddie Royal (DEN): Teammate Darrell Jackson was brought in to be the number two receiver alongside Brandon Marshall, but then the team drafted Royal, who has worked his way into a starting role this preseason. Expect Royal to put up some decent numbers in an offense that should be a lot better passing the ball this year, as Cutler will be a lot healthier after taming his diabetes and Marshall draws loads of attention from opposing defenses. (More …)